The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-05-14

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changed
"What is that you have at your side p
said No. 222, pointing to the staff which
the warler carried at his belt His tone
was no longer servile but commanding.
The warder, however, had not quite lost
himself, and he answered loudly, but moi
so loudly as usual:
"None of your lip now, 222. I'll run
you in for this, I will" /"
Running prisoner in is the euphemism
for conveying him to the punishment cells.
aWhat have you at your side ?" repeated
No. 222, with calm and steadfast voice.
The warder, in obedience to an impulse
which he could not control, laid his hand
upon the weapon and answered:
'sMy staff. You know that well enough. "
'sYou are wrong" said No. 222 quietly;
''it is whiskey bottle.
The warder plueked his staff from its
case and looked at it, and spell seemed
working on him.
"You see," observed the prisoner, smil-
ing, ''it is whiskey bottle"
at isn't; it's staff, my own staff, the
warder answered slowly and sullenly; but
even as he spoke dubious look crept upon
his features.
Examine it carefully" said No. 222.
"What is it now? 2"
"It's staff, whis-, staff. Yes, it
is a staff" persisted the warden. Then a
halflight of recognition stole into his face,
and he added cautiously, "But it's very
like a whiskey bottle"
sit is a whiskey bottle" the prisoner
said again. "Smell it
The warder raised his staff to his face
and nosed it critically.
"It's whiskey bottle A whiskey
bottle A whiskey bottle T. he cried de-
lightedly, and made as though he would
uncork it.
"Put it back" said the prisoner imperi-
ously; and straightway, but with an ap-
pearance of disgust and disappointment,
the warder returned the staff to his belt
BY single snap of his fingers No. 222
dissipated the effect, and the warder knew
nothing but that he had just completed
fruitless search on him for tobacco.
"Mind how you conduct yourself, 222,
else I'll run you in, WILL" he said as he
quilted the cell.
'sThank you, sir, l viii be careful, an.
swered the prisoner respectfully and re-
turned to his bed.
While in this state of normal conscious
ness the warder, of course, remained Who'll
ly ignorant of the humiliating episode of
the whiskey bottle, and as he lost nothing
of his antipathy to No. 222 he continued
to persecute him in various ways.
1t resulted that the prisoner one day
took counsel with himself and decided to
bring the matter to an issue. He had
grown weary of the warder and deemed it
we'll to make an end of him. But it was
never his habit to seek for opportunities, so
he sat down quietly to wait until one
should come. And presently it came.
The warder appeared one evening in the
cell of No. 222 and charged him with some
stupid offence which it would have been
beneath the dignity of any intelligent
prisoner to be guilty Of
By this time No. 222 had acquired such
complete control over the volition of this
warder that he could make slave of him
by nod. He suffered him to set forth
his charge and then, rising from his stool,
he placed himself before the officer, and
with single glance he struck him into
state of cataleptic rigidity.
When in the cataleptic state the victim
always remembered what had occurred in
former abnormal situations, and he seldom
failed to revert to the incident of the staff
transformed into whiskey bottle.
''Let us have little whiskey, sir-do,"
he pleaded in wheedling tone, for in this
condition he was a creature distinct from
his waking self.
"Silence !" said the prisoner, who was
now again the master.
"I'm awaiting for your orders, sir, re-
piled the warder submissively.
ssYou shall have them soon enough"
said No. 222. "Listen to me. In your
present condition you are in my power;
when release you I am in yours. Your
power you use like tyrant, and l am sick
of it and of you. You are poor and
despieable creature whom the accident of
fortune has placed in position of almost
unlimited authority over some hundreds of
unhappy criminals. | admit that many in
this place are very bad men and merit no
better fate than the desperate one they
suffer here. But you are very bad man
also, and the least suited therefore to have
power over your natural kin. Over good
mon bad ruler is sufficient evil; over
bad men his rule is an intolerable curse.
You have too long abused your power here;
you shall abuse it no longer. Iput an end
to your rule to-nigh."
At these portentous words the warder
turned whittier than the whitewashed walls
of the cell. His muscles quivered; he
shook in every limb.
"What are you going to do with me,
sir?" he quavered.
ssI am going to settle your hash" re-
piled No. 222 gravely, adopting the mode
of speech best calculated to strike home to
the feelings and intelligence of the warder.
"My ash, sir Going to settle my ash !
Are you going to kill me2"
"0h, no." replied No. 222. "I am not
going to hurt you in the least. | have
tnOuSub OI duOtuer anu u uOtc cncCtlfC
mode of dealing with you. | am simply
going to request you to stand on your head
for few moments here in the middle of
the CELL 1 hear the Governor coming; be
good enough to comply with my request at
once.
The Governor in fact was making
round of the prison that evening, and at
that very moment his step could be heard
coming in the direction of the cell where
this unusual colloquy was proceeding.
"Stand on your head" said No. 222.
'sThe Governor will be here in moment"
A dense sweat broke upon the warders
forehead and glittered there in beads.
"Stand on your head" repeated the
prisoner coldly and calmly.
II won'tl" said the warder doggedly:
but his tremulous features and the rocking
of his body showed him incapable Of resist
ance to the terrible will of No. 222.
The Governors step came nearer. The
warder had not closed the door Of the cell,
and it gaped some six inches.
"Obey me now, say |" exclaimed the